Hardwood floors are cool! (Literally!)

Welcome to Daylight Savings time, and for those of us who like getting off work before dark, the reminder that Winter is just around the corner.
So the rains have indeed come, and still no gravel in the driveway. Sigh. No matter. At least I don't worry about dirt getting caught in the carpet.With all this hardwood the dirt can't hide! But baby, It's cold! We must get some throw rugs and soon. Still trying to warm the house with the Franklin stove. Robin doesn't want to turn on the heater. At the rate I'm burning wood, we will run out of wood before the cold is done.

The Franklin will in fact warm up the living room, and some of the hall, maybe even eventually reaching the bedrooms. it does take hours of burning. Yesterday I burned all day, and the house was indeed toasty. But I haven't figured out how to stoke up the fire, close the door and have it heat thru the night. I know it can be done.I will not give up.I may have to call my Aunt in New Mexico, who hasn't used her furnace in years. She uses a pot bellied stove.
The garden is being invaded by gophers, and they are eating the squash from the root up I am not pleased. Ive been baiting them with Juicy Fruit gum. But I think there are too many families in the yard.I think im going to have to resort to Poison Peanuts. The gophers seem to only like the squash, so my broccoli, green beans and shell peas seem safe from them. (but I did find that snails like the broccoli!) That being said, the vegetables in the green house are doing wonderful! We have had Strawberries, and will have two different types of tomatoes, anaheim chilies, eggplant, lettuce, cucumbers and potatoes!

I've been watching that crazy grapevine popping up all over the part of the yard it had covered. Robin and I couldn't figure out how to control it until we went to a concert at a winery in Temecula,  and saw what they had done, and plan to copy it. Will write more on this later and will post pictures. Last but not least, Robin planted berries along the lower fence. We now have two Blackberries,  two Boysenberries, one Raspberry vine and a Blueberry bush!